


Just In Charge of Ammo This Time

by arianapeterson19



Series: Avengers Shorts [54]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Christmas, Cuddling & Snuggling, Hospitals, Illnesses, Insecure Tony, Kid Tony Stark, Protective Bucky Barnes, Sick Tony, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, protective winter soldier
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-07
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-08-07 07:50:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7706521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arianapeterson19/pseuds/arianapeterson19
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Winter Soldier knew how to handle many things - stalking victims, noticing small details, providing for those under his care, but handling a sick child was not something he was prepared for.</p><p>OR</p><p>The one where Tony gets sick.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just In Charge of Ammo This Time

The Winter Soldier had opened a bakery. Tony thought it was a great adventure. It turned out the kid had helped his butler and the cook bake cookies when his parents weren’t around and while Tony was not particularly good at it – seeing over the counter was still and issue for the kid – he was very precise in the pouring and mixing. The Winter Soldier had decided on opening a bakery because he would be his own boss and baking was a quiet task, one he could step away from and still be aware of his surroundings.

Tony loved the bakery. It was nothing like his old home. They lived above it. When they had first bought the building, it was such a mess that Winnie refused to let Tony sleep there. The man had worked day and night remodeling the place and when it was to his satisfaction, that was when he let Tony move in for good. The apartment was nice, three bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, two bathrooms, and a fire escape to the roof. Winnie took the room with the fire escape. The spare room was more of a closet but Tony used it to fix things and take things apart. Even better was the fact that because the place should have been condemned, the Winter Soldier owned the entire building and the attached apartments next door, so he could fix those up as he desired and have the extra income if he wanted.

It was just before Christmas and early when Tony crawled into bed with the Winter Soldier, sniffing and coughing miserably. Instantly, the Winter Soldier was on alert. He had been monitoring the cough Tony had developed over the last week but the kid had no other symptoms and the cough – while rattling – wasn’t actually slowing him down. But this was new.

As a rule, Tony was independent for a child. The only time he joined the Winter Soldier in bed was after particularly bad nightmares and even then the Winter Soldier could count on one hand the amount of times that had happened. Tony didn’t ask for hugs, he didn’t cry if he could help it, and he never expected the Winter Soldier to be physically affectionate with him. That alone had stirred up an emotional response in the Winter Soldier – he saw how children were and they craved physical affection – and since then he had made it a point to hug and comfort the child as much as possible. However, even then Tony did not know how to seek out comfort unless he was beside himself with misery.

“What’s wrong?” asked the Winter Soldier, looking down at the kid curled into his side on the bed.

“Hard to breathe,” whimpered Tony, coughing again.

The Winter Soldier placed his flesh hand against the boy’s forehead and frowned at the heat radiating off of it. Tony hummed and pushed farther into the comparatively cooler flesh on his head. The Winter Soldier stood up, keeping Tony in his arms, and made his way to the closet. 

“Where are we going?” panted Tony, wiping his running nose on the Winter Soldier’s sleep shirt.

“To the doctor,” replied the Winter Soldier, shrugging on his jacket and proper pants. “You’re sick.”

Tony went to protest but ended up in a coughing fit instead. The Winter Soldier stopped changing and rubbed Tony’s back, trying to help the boy through the painful sounding fit. When he was done, Tony lay panting against the Winter Soldier’s shoulder while the soldier continued getting dressed. He didn’t bother changing Tony out of his pajamas but he did wrap the boy up in his favorite red blanket.

The Winter Soldier hated that red blanket. It was ratty and torn and Tony chewed and sucked on the corner when he was anxious or sad. It wasn’t sanitary and if he could have gotten away with it, the soldier would have thrown the damn thing out. But the one time he had slipped the blanket away – only to wash it – without telling the kid, it had sent the boy into a panic attack. So as much as it galled him, the Winter Soldier knew better than to try and bring the kid to the doctor – which Tony hated to begin with – without his precious red blanket.

It was dark outside and snow was falling thickly. Tony whimpered and burrowed further into the Winter Soldier’s jacket, chewing even harder on the edge of the blanket. He didn’t want to wait for the bus so the Winter Soldier zipped up the front of his jacket with Tony inside, feeling thankful that the kid was still small enough to fit inside – but he wouldn’t be for long. Keeping one arm around the kid outside of the jacket, keeping him firmly in place, the Winter Soldier began a brisk walk that would take him to the hospital through back alleys and side streets.

When they arrived at the hospital, the Winter Soldier walked right up to the front desk.

“My kid can’t breathe,” said the Winter Soldier.

“Okay,” said a nurse walking nearby. “Why don’t we take him back and get him checked out? Here, Arnold, give me the papers, this young man can fill them out while we check out his son. Come on, sweetie, let’s see what’s going on.”

Tony peeked his head up, that blasted blanket still in his mouth. The Winter Soldier followed the nurse to a curtained off area with a padded table covered in thin paper.

“I’m Ellie,” said the nurse. “Why don’t you set your son on the table so I can take his temperature.”

The Winter Soldier unzipped his jacket and placed Tony on the table. Tony sniffed and looked at Ellie suspiciously.

“Hello,” said Ellie with a smile, her forest green eyes crinkling as she did. “I’m Ellie. I’m a nurse here. What’s your name?”

“Tony,” said Tony, his voice a little rough from the coughing.

“Hi Tony, it’s nice to meet you,” said Ellie. “Now, your dad says you’re having trouble breathing. I’m going to take your temperature and listen to your lungs. Okay?”

Tony nodded. This thumb slipped into his mouth, a habit that rarely made itself known anymore but was almost as disgusting to the Winter Soldier as the chewing on the blanket. Silently, the Winter Soldier stepped up to the table and pulled the thumb out of his kid’s mouth. Tony looked up at him with wide eyes.

“That’s got germs,” said the Winter Soldier.

“Winnie,” frowned Tony.

“Take a deep breath for me, Tony,” said Ellie, placing the cold end of the stethoscope against Tony’s chest.

Tony did, turning his frown from the Winter Soldier to Ellie.

“Thank you,” said Ellie.

“I thought the doctor was s’posed to do the listening,” mumbled Tony, sticking the edge of his blanket back into his mouth.

“What’s wrong with him?” demanded the Winter Soldier.

“Well he has a fever and I don’t like the rattling in his lungs,” said Ellie. “I’m going to check his blood pressure and then grab the doctor. She will probably want to draw some blood.”

“No thank you,” said Tony, wiggling to get off the table but being picked up by the Winter Soldier instead. “I’m feeling much better now. We can just go home.”

The Winter Soldier bit down a smirk as he looked at his kid. Tony was miserable, curling into the Winter Soldier’s chest, but even the assassin could see how adorable Tony was. But the poor kid was really sick and hated people poking him or anything to do with blood. Ellie nodded sympathetically at them both before slipping out to find the doctor on duty.

The Winter Soldier sat down on the table with Tony. The kid seemed content to stay with the Winter Soldier and not escape, not that he had the energy to do any escaping. The Winter Soldier wrapped the red blanket more securely around Tony while Tony coughed into his shirt. It was going to be a long day.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back! This is a gift for everyone who waited so patiently for me to get internet. This is how I spent my time waiting for internet - writing more story.
> 
> Always,  
> Ari


End file.
